


A Collection of Curios

by lostinbooks



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Multiple Relationships, Multiple Theories, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond Theory, Will Add More
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-01 09:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 6,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17241401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostinbooks/pseuds/lostinbooks
Summary: Drabbles to pass the Steven Universe hiatus.





	1. Material Memories

“What-what is this?” White Diamond glared down at the earthly flecks of... _something_ embedded in her fellow Diamond’s hair. Pink Diamond just grinned.

“It’s called _hay_ , isn’t it wonderful White?” She clambered over a big square, seemingly made out of the...material. “It feels so strange, and the organics make so much of it! I don’t know why!” She laughed, her body shuddering with the deep, lovely sound. The sunlight, yellow as the...hay on this planet, caught the edges of her gem just right. It glinted in White’s eyes. She squinted. White Diamond didn’t understand. Why would Pink be fine with not understanding? She didn’t understand what this _hay_ was, she didn’t understand why Pink had to have her colony here, she didn’t understand why Pink had to be shattered here. The memory shriveled away to dust.

The pink palanquin stood before White Diamond instead. Her resting place, her first colony, her tomb. White nodded once, her face going blank yet again. _Her_ last time off-planet. She walked back into the ship, its majestic visage a copy of her own. “Set a course for Homeworld.” As she settled into a seat, White Diamond cleared away her emotions. She knew it had been a long time coming. After Pink’s shattering, Homeworld was falling apart. There was only one thing left to save it now.

Her ship landed as it always did, her fellow Diamonds never there. No gems to see her actions. Good. On the edge of Homeworld, White Diamond walked for the last time. She settled against the wall, spread her arms apart, and smiled. A glorious visage for her gems, a radiant smile for her fellow Diamonds, forevermore.

Deep inside the planet’s crust, tendrils of white light surrounded the core. Homeworld wasn’t going to fall apart. Not when she _was _Homeworld.__


	2. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Diamond explores a moss-covered hill.

Homeworld was so _much_ , but her colony was too. It never ceased to astound Pink Diamond. So many things happened at every moment, but unlike Homeworld, it wasn’t uniform and expected. It was the complete opposite. 

“Pearl?” Her pearl looked at her. 

“Yes, My Diamond?” 

“I wish to see more of Earth.” Pink Diamond said formally. Her excited smile ruined the façade. It faded when her pearl didn’t smile, instead turning and going down the steps. 

The walls were bare. Her pearl laid a hand on the observation orb, her sharp gaze turned toward Pink Diamond. “My Diamond?” 

What did she want to see today? “Somewhere with water.” The walls lit up with a dizzying array of colors for a moment, then stopped. Pink Diamond gasped. It was so _different_. It was surrounded by a dirt wall, good for a Kindergarten. But there was so much water, more than she ever saw on Homeworld. Curious little organics swam and flew and crawled. Pink crouched. She wanted to know about it _all_. 

“This is a pond. There is only a small amount of water here, but several types of organics, called fauna and flora, different from the bipedals, live here.” The words registered faintly in the back of Pink’s mind. 

Green circular things floated on top of the water _(those are lilypads, a type of flora, My Diamond)_. White things _(lilies)_ grew on top of them, and little green things _(frogs, fauna)_ jumped from one onto the other. Tiny things _(dragonflies)_ flitted on top of the water. The water itself was so many different colors, the green of the lilypads but blue too, white at the shore and she was falling, falling so much deeper in love with Earth and what was she going to tell Yellow and Blue and White? 


	3. Defective Much?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pink Pearl needs to be better.

“...not a good...need...my own.....” Pink Pearl shivered. Her Diamond and White Diamond were talking longer than usual. Face emotionless, form good, _she_ was good. But she was still worried. This time had been a little worse than the last; she almost got cracked. Her gem, set over her eye, ached with the memory. Her Diamond could be over exuberant at times in their games. 

Pink Pearl glanced at the other pearl. White Diamond’s pearl, on the other hand, was perfect. Gem polished to a gleam, form perfect, eyes ahead, nothing was out of place. Pink Pearl straightened up. Tremors rushed through the floor. The Diamonds must be done talking. She had to look as good-no, _better_ , than the other pearl. The doors opened. 

“It’ll be better for both of us, starlight.” It came without warning; one of the Diamonds picked her up. Pink Pearl struggled to keep still, to be the perfect pearl. White Diamond glared at her beadily. “You will have mine instead. Your pearl is too...defective for you to keep around any longer.” White Diamond’s grip tightened. Pink Pearl got the message. She let go of her physical form. 

0o0o0o0 

White. White surrounded her the next time Pink Pearl regenerated. White Diamond smiled at her, not her Diamond. “You are now _my pearl_. And as my pearl, we need to change your gem.” Change her gem? White Diamond picked her up again. Where was her Diamond? What was happening? White Diamond gently reached around her gem. She locked her fingernails behind it _and it hurt what was happening_ -POP! This was impossible, how could White Diamond have her gem but she still be here? She hadn’t poof-OH! 

Pink Pearl, form glitching, looked down. Her gem, somehow, was now on her stomach. How-She glitched again. **REBOOTING.**

0o0o0o0 

_“Pink Diamond, your presence is required.”_


	4. Rain Rain, Go Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diamonds - Human AU. White watches over her sisters.

“I like the rain! I don’t wanna wear it!” Blue Diamond yelled as she ran out the door. White just sighed, holding the raincoat. Blue always had to be the emotional one. She was long used to her sisters’ rebellions. _Maybe Yellow would wear it instead?_ Turning around, Yellow stormily looked at her from underneath a golden hood. She stomped past White and out the door. She was always the mercurial one. 

“Pink! Do you want to wear Blue’s raincoat?!” 

“YES!” Her youngest sister came bouncing down the hallway. White had to smile; Pink wore the ridiculous pink clown pants that Yellow had gotten for her as a joke. It was adorable. Pink Diamond took the coat from her, dark blue with a hood, and put it on. It was a good foot longer than she was, barely avoiding the ground. Pink just grinned and bounded out the door. 

White Diamond shook her head and walked to the kitchen. She sat down at the table and took a sip of her cold coffee. It was still good. White watched her sisters play in the rain outside. As she expected, Blue danced in the rain, water streaming down her black, blue-tinted hair, having the time of her life. Yellow stared upwards and grinned every time she heard thunder. She always loved the lightning. And Pink, Pink jumped in every puddle she could find. 

_Five, four, three, two, one_...Blue noticed Pink was wearing her raincoat. White could just imagine Blue’s shriek as she stomped over to Pink. White moved to get up as Blue almost pushed Pink into a puddle. Pink just laughed, her mass of brown curls shaking, and took off the raincoat. Blue snatched it from her and put it on. White sighed. Just another day in the Diamond household. 


	5. I See You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diamonds - Human AU. The Diamond sisters spend a day at the local apple orchard.

“One, two, three, four, five, ready or not, here I come!” White Diamond grinned. The orchard was a perfect place to play. Food and hiding places, all rolled up into one place. She already spotted Pink Diamond. _Honestly_ , White thought. Her youngest sister giggled from behind a thin tree. “I found you!” 

Pink squealed and ran away. White watched her go, and shook her head. Pink would get bored sooner and later, and try to find her again. The important thing was that she was it next time. _Now where are Yellow and Blue?_ The best places to hide were in the trees. Pink, being young, hadn’t realized that. Blue and Yellow, older, would. 

White scanned the treetops. She was impressed; twenty minutes and she still hadn’t found either of them. Then she heard the faint crying. “Oh no.” White followed the sound all the way to the middle of the orchard. Unlike what she predicted, Blue Diamond wasn’t in the trees. However, White quickly found the reason. A large gash on her leg dripped blood. She picked her sister up. It wasn’t that bad, but she didn’t have any bandages or anything... 

“Can-can’t you d-do something Wh-White?” ...Their game of hide and seek was over. 

"Yellow! Pink! We’re done, you can come out now!” White started walking. Five minutes, and Pink sidled to her side. White sighed, giving her a cursory look. Her outfit was completely covered with grass stains and apple juices. 

“Are we done now?” Pink whined. 

“Yes, Blue got hurt so we’re going to go home now.” Only a couple more minutes. Pink and Blue shrieked as Yellow Diamond jumped out of the tree in front of them. She stared beadily at White, eating an apple. Apple cores lay all around the tree trunk. White sighed. 


	6. The New Difference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose Quartz learns anew.

“Hello little one.” Rose crooned. She smiled as the baby laughed. “Your child is adorable.” She handed the baby back to its mother. Its leg poked out of the swaddling, turned in on itself. Clubfoot. Rose knew what would have happened if it had a gem. _Poofed and broken, harvested for energy, her sisters doing nothing about it._ Rose shook her head, waving goodbye to her new friends. That was Homeworld. On Earth, doctors treated them, and they got better. 

0o0o0o0 

“What do these do?” Rose asked. Midnight was almost upon them, and everyone was ready to fight. But she was curious. The human recruit tipped his hat, a smarmy grin on his face. 

“Y’see ma’am, it’s a long gun. It shoots little bullets out the hole,” He aimed it at the ground in between a skittish aquamarine’s feet, “which can take anything or anyone out.” He shot. The aquamarine jumped and looked around, before flying away towards the Temple. The sound was extremely loud. Rose nodded. It was a serious weapon, one that could easily shatter a gem. She would have to find every human and tell them. It was so strange. Every weapon was a gem’s own, or made by a bismuth. They didn’t have anything like this on Homeworld. 

0o0o0o0 

Rose only meant for a quick peek. See what the humans were doing now. But then she stayed. The song, the passion, the man himself. It called to her, until she alone stood at the edge of the light, a sole spectator to the ode to her old home. The man belted out the last lyrics, and she clapped. It echoed in the wide open air. Singing wasn’t like this on Homeworld. Earth was just so different from her old home. Everything constantly changed. She loved it. 


	7. WorryWart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie worries.

“One Nut-Dog for me please,” _It’s still weird to see ex-Mayor Dewey working the Big Donut._ Steven turned to Connie, who was staring intently at the menus, “Do you want anything Connie?” 

“I’ll take a chocolate-glazed donut please.” _Hm. That’s different._

“Alright, that’s one Nut-Dog and one chocolate-glazed donut for 3.99.” Dewey rang up the cash, put the food into bags, and handed it to them. “Have a good day!” _Ring-a-ling!_ “Welcome to the Big Donut!” 

Steven and Connie exited the shop. Orange saturated the horizon while the endless blue sky filled with puffy clouds. They sat down at the edge of the Boardwalk and started eating. Connie looked at hers for a minute, while Steven took a huge bite from one end. “Whafchu thinking abouf Connie?” 

“Should I eat this?” _Nobody should look sad while looking at a donut!_ “I-Mom doesn’t let me have saturated or trans fats, but I’ve wanted to try it once and Ihavetraininginonlyacoupleminutesso-“ She gasped for breath. Silent, Steven took the half-crumbled donut out of her hands. 

“I think you can try it.” Connie stared at him. “Maybe you can just take a bite? Just to see what it tastes like? I think it’d be okay to do that.” She stared down at her feet, thoughts crawling across her face. Steven offered the donut to her once again. Connie took a little bite, and chewed thoughtfully. They watched the sunrise evolve, orange fading its way to bleeding red and pink. Connie ate more of hers slowly. Steven finished the rest of the Nut-Dog in a minute. 

“Did you like it?” 

“I’m happy I tried it. But I’m not going to have one again.” 

“Well, I thought it was totally _nuts_ that you wanted to try one in the first place!” They both laughed. 


	8. You'll Be Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl tries to care for a baby Steven.

_She_ He was so tiny. Using a human colloquialism she had heard recently, he was a peanut. It was _horrible_ amazing that this was _what_ who Rose _left behind_ became. _She’s dead dead dead_ Pearl stared at him, thoughts swirling in her head. She had convinced her friends and _Greg_ that she was fine, she could take care of _her_ him. _Get her back back back_

“We can’t give up. Not yet.” Pearl whispered. She owed it to her, to Rose, to her Diamond. This tiny weak sack of flesh containing the perfect, radiant, _Rose’s_ gem...Pearl laid him on the ground and curled her fingers around _her_ his gem. “I can get you out, you’ll be fine Rose...” She tugged. The gem didn’t budge. She tugged harder. The gem glinted kindly, as if apologizing for her efforts. _This, this can’t be it, I have to, need to keep trying, Rose-_ She fell back on her knees and swallowed, even though she didn’t need to. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t. _It’s useless, you’re useless, why did she leave me behind?_ Tears spilled across her cheeks. 

_Rose_ **Steven** looked at her. Pearl smiled at him sadly. His face screwed up. Tears streamed down his face as he started crying. What do I do what do I do? Pearl picked _her_ **Steven** up. She tried to rock him the way Greg had showed her. He sobbed harder. Pearl racked her mind, why did he start-! She was stressed, so he started crying because infants learn from their caretakers! Of course! 

Pearl took a deep breath, that she didn’t need, and cleared her head. She couldn’t be sad. She cleared her throat. “Steven~” His crying slowed. Little black eyes struggled to focus on her face. Pearl smiled. His mouth opened in a broad smile. 


	9. Understanding? I don't know her

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lapis doesn't understand everything that Steven does.

“...Thanks Steven!” Catching a fragment of a conversation, Lapis laughed bitterly. She didn’t understand, but then again, when did she ever understand? She sheathed her water wings and landed behind Steven. 

He waved goodbye to one of the humans-Sally? Sarah? She didn’t know. He turned around. “Lapis!” 

She didn’t understand. “You’re always helping everyone. Doesn’t it ever get tiring?” He handed her a flower from a bouquet she didn’t notice him holding. “What is this?” 

“It’s a forget-me-not! Sadie gave me a few; her mom got a whole bunch for her for Daughter’s Day. She told me that one of the meanings is a-um, uh, what was it-“ Steven tapped his shoe, looking everywhere but her. Lapis smirked. He would remember eventually. It was almost the same color as her. It smelled nice, very sweet. “A connection that lasts through time! That was what Sadie said! And since we’re beach summer fun buddies, I thought you should have one!” Steven grinned. She didn’t really understand, but that was okay. It was Steven. They started walking. 

Sand crunched underneath her toes. Crashing waves filled the silence, while the stars twinkled above them. They weren’t the same as Homeworld’s, and Lapis was okay with that. She did understand, for once, why she was okay with it. It was a shock when Steven started to talk. “It does get hard sometimes. Helping everyone, I- I want to, and I can, and I like to, but I have problems too, y’know?” They stopped, halfway on the beach. She didn’t know, but that wasn’t what Steven needed to hear right now. “But everyone else needs help too, and sometimes I just want to stop but I can’t, I _don’t want to_ , I-if I stop I have to think-“ Oh no. Now this, _this_ Lapis understood. 


	10. From Light to Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why her?

“I can’t believe we did that!” Yellow Diamond laughed, a much higher pitched sound now than her usual earth-shaking rumble. Shapeshifting to be as small as Pink was hard, but Yellow was glad. It made watching the zircon that much funnier. Pink Diamond just grinned mischievously. The zircon looked extremely affronted, its white form now completely stained in pink and yellow dye. Yellow and Pink stared at each other, and laughed even harder. 

0o0o0o0 

“C’mon Blue, we can even do it together if it’ll make you feel better.” 

“Oh all right.” A snap of her fingers, all the gems in the ballroom started dancing again. Yellow Diamond, her form even more resplendent in a high cut dress, led Blue Diamond into the crowd. Every gem tried not to stare at them, at two of their rulers dancing at a lower-gem function. Many gems didn’t succeed. 

They intertwined fingers far out to the side, the other arm tugging each other close. Yellow beamed. Blue shyly smiled in reply. Mimicking each other’s dance steps, they quickstepped in a wide arc across the ballroom, twice as fast than the beat. 

Blue laughed. The selenite singing kept on going off-key, trying to keep in time to both them and the other gems in the ballroom. It had already caused some crashes among the smaller gems. 

“Yellow, this is lovely but we’re starting to attract some, unwanted attention.” 

“Hmm?” A rakish smile on her lips, Yellow Diamond looked around discreetly. “So we have. What do _you_ suggest we do, Blue?” 

0o0o0o0 

She had been just like her, just as lively and bubbly. So why was only one of them shattered into shards on a tiny cruddy planet, still overrun by organisms and rebel traitors alike? It was time to become hard. Hard as a Diamond. 


	11. Whatever-It-Is

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot has frustrations with an earthen animal.

“Shoo, shoo, go _away!_ ” The white whatever-it-was didn’t move, instead staring at her with big blue eyes. Peridot groaned. Pumpkin barked excitedly in the distance, Lapis shouting commands. Peridot had sent her away while she dealt with this. Of all the days for something to disturb the warp pad (which happened a lot now that she thought about it), it was when they actually had somewhere to _go!_ “It couldn’t be when I was working on the cornfield, or the Cluster, or at night, or even when the Diamonds were here, _no_ , it had to be now!” Peridot ranted. She stood on her toes, nose-to-nose with the white _thing._ “Why are you here?!” 

“BAAAA!” 

“WAAAHHHH!” Peridot fell, her arms flailing. She landed hard on her back. “Nghhhh...” 

“Peridot? Are you okay? I heard you screaming.” A shadow appeared over her. Lapis stared at her curiously, set Pumpkin on her face, then turned her gaze to the warp pad’s occupant. 

Peridot scrambled to her feet, Pumpkin sliding off her visor. “I’ll be fine when this, _whatever-it-is_ gets off the warp pad so we can leave!” Pumpkin barked excitedly around her heels. “Not now Pumpkin!” 

Lapis was _touching_ the thing now, patting it. Why?! “Why? This lamb is really cute and I can just fly us over to Steven’s house.” 

“We don’t need to fly everywhere when we have a perfectly good warp pad and what in the stars is a _lamb?_ ” Pumpkin pawed at her leg. Peridot picked her up. 

“This.” Lapis turned around, _holding_ it. “It’s been wandering around the barn for a couple of days. I asked Steven about it and he said it was a lamb.” 

“But why is it _on the warp pad?”_

Lapis appeared thoughtful, holding the lamb to her side. She shrugged. “Mhm.” 


	12. Young and Innocent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garnet loves seeing Steven.

“Ganeh! Ganeh Ganeh Ganeh Ganeh!” Steven giggled as Garnet pulled him into her lap. He dropped something to the floor, but she didn’t know what. A soft smile curved her lips at his mispronunciation of her name. She had seen it would happen, either that or he’d run to “Perl”. He was so cute. Four years old, and he was still so small. He waved a hand in her face. Garnet blinked. She had “zoned out”, as Greg called it. 

She gently pushed his hands away from her face. “What is it Steven? What did you do today?” She knew what happened, but it was always nice to hear it from Steven. 

“Oh oh oh!” Steven bounced, grinning broadly. Garnet swore she could see stars in his eyes. “Me and Dad went to the beach! And the woods! Dad’s hat went flying off bec-because it was so windy and it-it flew into the trees!” He laughed and oh, didn’t he sound just like Rose then _C’mon Garnet, just once-_ Not now. Garnet forced the memories away and tuned back in. “...and I got these!” Garnet grabbed his waist before he fell. Steven leaned over as far as he could go, before picking up something from the floor. It must have been the things he spilled. “PINECONES!” 

He clutched eight in his hands. So that’s what he found in the woods. “Very cool. What are you and Greg going to do with them?” Steven looked confused. So Greg hadn’t told him what to do? Garnet smiled and suppressed a chuckle. 

“No, Dad wanted me to do-do something with you. He-he said we can put them on the win-window!” He wiggled out of her lap and dumped them beside her. One by one, he put them on the windowsill. He was adorable. 


	13. A Day In The Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amethyst loves hanging out with baby Steven!

“Amy! Amyamyamyamyamy!” Amethyst looked up from the sand, before being bowled over. Steven laid on her chest, giggling wildly. He was holding something, it pricking her stomach. “Amy!” 

“What’s up little man?” Amethyst laughed. He was so _cute_. She sat up, Steven sliding into her lap. He opened his arms, his smile a blinding light on a dirty face. Nice. 

“I got ACORNS!” They spilled over his lap and into the sand. “Me and Dad went to the woods and-and I found a lotta them! He said we can make sand-sandcastles!” He looked at her hopefully. “Can we make a sand-sandcastle Amy?” 

Well how could she say no? Amethyst smiled and stood up. “Of course!” Shapeshifting her hands into shovels, Amethyst started scooping up sand. Steven watched her, and then began to help. He shoved the mounds of sand into crooked circles and squares, eventually making them into half-haphazardly standing castles. They dug out moats and filled them with crabs. Amethyst found dozens of seashells and other junk washed on the shores, and helped Steven decide where to put it on the castles. It was the most fun Amethyst had had with him in a while. Not better than fighting, but it was still fun. 

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky full of nice purples and blues, Steven and Amethyst stood back and admired their creations. Sea shells, sea glass (the sharp edges rubbed away), and wet wood decorated and held up the castles. Yet she couldn’t help thinking something was missing. 

They turned to each other at the same time. “Acorns!” Steven toddled over to the pile and scooped them up. “Where should we put ‘em Ste-man?” 

“Hmmm...” Steven stared at the castle for a couple of minutes, thinking. “On top of the walls!” 


	14. Jet Lag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Padparascha AU. Rose discovers a new ally.

They only had some aristocrats in their ranks- some zircons, an aquamarine or two. The elite rarely wanted to upheave the status quo. It was different, extremely different. Just like them. A sapphire, alone on Earth? Why was she here? Sapphires weren’t messengers, or soldiers. They didn’t go on the battlefield. They belonged in courts. It was unprecedented. But that was the Crystal Gems’ area of expertise. 

“What are you doing here?” Rose asked kindly. She wasn’t as skeptical as her fellow Gems. She had, after all, been part of _the_ upper crust at first. But caution was still wise. She had met the sapphire in the far reaches of some woods. Strangely, it was near the Sky Arena. Did she-? 

The sapphire didn’t respond. A minute passed, and Rose imagined sweat rolling down her back. Sapphires were supposed to see the future, so what was wrong- 

“Oh!” The sapphire clasped her hands together, the peach gemstone on the back of her hand glinting. “I predict that you will be surprised by my arrival. I am here because I am of no use to the Diamonds!” 

Rose blinked. Well, that answered that. An orange sapphire with past vision- how rare, and useless on Homeworld. She couldn’t be a spy. Homeworld didn’t think like that. 

“The Crystal Gems will take me in. How marvelous!” Padparascha exclaimed. Rose smiled, and started walking. A few seconds after, Padparascha followed. Standing on the warp pad, the unlikely pair vanished in a flash of light. 

They reappeared in the middle of a hubbub of activity. Gems practiced fusing, summoning their weapons, fighting. Bismuth and Pearl were having an exceptional time. However, everything ceased when the warp pad chimed. Rose beamed nervously. 

“I predict that I will make everyone uncomfortable.” Padparascha said with a forlorn smile. 


	15. Certainty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sapphire's future has always been laid before her.

Homeworld, was, and always would be, a monarchy. The Diamonds ruled from the top, and everyone else fell below them. A gem’s rarity determined their status. From the most puffed up aquamarine to the lowest ruby, none could move up the ranks. Of course, Sapphire thought, could she critique them when she was part of the bourgeoise as well? She took a step to the side, the seventh time this cycle. The zircon, immersed in a deluge of reports, didn’t notice. It was the seventh time they had avoided a crash. However, the rubies and topazes watching her did notice. They gaped at the zircon, and then her, with visible wonder. Sapphire turned the corner. Life was always scripted. 

0o0o0o0 

“My Diamond, I foresee the aquamarine has abandoned you. She requests an appointment, wherein she will attempt to destroy your form.” 

“Thank you, Sapphire.” Sapphire bowed low and exited Blue Diamond’s throne room. The aquamarine, shaking but a brave look on her face, flew in. Minutes passed. A single shout, and a sigh in the air that signaled when a gem’s physical form released. The waiting hall became silent. The rebels had their spies on the inside, but their attempts did not work. It was due to her type. She would have thought the rebels would realize by now. 

Sapphire walked down the hall slowly. Every gem watched. The weight of their stares, full of everything from disgust to admiration, coupled with the knowledge of knowing this would come to pass, pressed on Sapphire’s shoulders. She sagged minutely. No gem noticed. 

0o0o0o0 

It was time. This rebellion will finally be stopped in its tracks. The rebels had tried to uproot society, but as always, it failed. She saw the future laid out before her, and she was never wrong. Never. 


	16. Prevalent Destruction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper doesn't understand Earth.

“Why does Earth have to destroy everything it touches?” Jasper growled. She didn’t know where she was. This planet was too big and sprawling; rebel and corrupt gems, organics, and flora and fauna crawled over every inch. She _hated_ it! “Gah!” Jasper screamed into the night sky, shaking birds out of their nests. 

**Stop yourself, soldier.** She was the Kindergarten Quartz That Could, and no lowly planet was going to take _her_ down. Especially not, Jasper gritted her teeth, the one where Her Diamond was shattered on. Jasper contented herself with slamming aside trees and bushes, creating a wide path of destruction behind her. This planet was like C-23; overgrown with many things. Jasper bared a savage grin. But C-23 had been colonized, and that was exactly how this planet was going to end up, _especially_ as the shattering place of Her Diamond. 

She stopped. She had arrived at a small clearing, bared of trees and bushes. Strangely, a shrill song seemed to emanate from the ground. Jasper’s lip curled; what organic creature lived _here?_ More out of curious disgust than anything else, Jasper lowered herself to the ground. 

In between the stalks of grass, she could just barely see bunches of green creatures. They rubbed their back legs together, and produced the shrill sounds. It was revolting. Jasper shook her head furiously and straightened up like Her Diamond had seen her. What in the _stars_ was she _doing?!_ This was an _earth_ animal, and therefore not worth her time. Why was she examining things like a howlite on the planet of Her Diamond’s shattering?! 

She was the Kindergarten Quartz That Could. She was _perfect._ She-Jasper shivered despite herself.- had to get off this planet before it destroyed _her._ Jasper stepped forward, crushing the insects under her heel. **Forward march, soldier.**


	17. Rarely

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bismuth muses.

She doesn’t do it often. Gems don’t tire, but humans do, so battles start and end at strange hours of the day or night. The Rebellion always needs weapons, and she’s the best blacksmith the Crystal Gems have. 

It’s a comforting routine- form the metal, make a weapon, cool it, and hand it off to the gem. Gems often stick around, watching her smith or just enjoying the atmosphere. But gems get bored, and Bismuth is no exception. So she challenges one of the multiple gems hanging around to a fight, or warp back to base. There, Bismuth helps welcome new recruits, or plot new strategies with Rose, Pearl, and Garnet, or just talk with the others. She’s always moving, striving to do _something._

Bismuth doesn’t like the alternative. But it’s necessary, like today. Today, she shuts down the forge. Shooing all of the gems outside, she walks with them to the warp pad as they warp back to base. Once there, Bismuth starts walking. She returns waves and greetings, but keeps walking. Worn crystal turns to dry sand underneath her feet. In the middle of the beach, Bismuth sits. 

The sun rises. It reminds Bismuth of a piece of art a human recruit had shown her once- a watercolor painting. Oranges and blues melded together and stretched across the sky, just like the watercolor. In the stillness, memories flows like lava through her mind, slow but relentless. _Smoke and fire brush against her back. A cacophony of screams, sighs, grunts, rattles, and thumps. Flashes of colors of fusions midway. Pinpricks of pain from broken shards underfoot._ Again and again, she relieves her battles. 

But in the warmth of the new sunrise, joyous shouts behind her, and cold water washing over her form, Bismuth knows she will be okay. 


	18. Her Clarity!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rubies are just 'decorative' foot soldiers, right?

“You are nothing! Absolutely nothing!” Iris Agate spat in their faces. Left Hand Ruby, Shoulder Ruby, and Right Hand Ruby (as they differentiated themselves) didn’t flinch. They kept holding the diamond salute, bearing their administrator’s anger. Iris Agate paced around them, muttering to herself. The Rubies slowly relaxed their arms. “How did I ever end up taking care of a squad of Rubies? Rubies?!” 

She turned back to them, and Left Hand Ruby, Shoulder Ruby, and Right Hand Ruby immediately held up their pose again. “Now listen here: you’re guarding Her Clarity, Blue Diamond’s very own Sapphire. You will protect her with your miserable _lives._ Get poofed, get shattered, I don’t care. But Her Clarity _can not_ get a single scratch on her.” She leaned in close, eyes spitting fire. “Understood?” 

“Yes Iris Agate!” 

“Good! Now get out of my sight!” The Rubies fled the room. Her Clarity needed to be guarded soon! 

“I hate her. Everygem makes fun of us! I’m so tired of being called ‘useless’ and ‘stupid’!” Shoulder Ruby screamed, hair lighting on fire. Left and Right Hand Rubies looked at each other and grimaced. It was true. Rubies were made as soldiers, but they weren’t always smart. “Rocks, even Amethysts look down on us! The next time Iris...” Shoulder Ruby grumbled. 

“Well, we better hurry. ‘Else we’ll be late for Her Clarity.” All three Rubies picked up their pace. They may act tough, but all three knew what would happen if they were late for Blue Diamond. 

0o0o0o0

The door to Blue Diamond’s Court loomed before them. But the Rubies didn’t care by this point. They had a job to do, no matter the consequences- to guard Her Clarity against attack. If they got poofed or shattered, it didn’t matter; as long as Her Clarity was safe. 


	19. Today...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set just before _Reunited._ Stevonnie just wants a break.

“So Stevonnie, what are you up to today?” She always enjoyed seeing Steven’s cousin, and this time around was no different. Kiki took a seat in the sand next to them. 

“Wanted to watch the sunset before the craziness.” Stevonnie shrugged. Kiki quirked an eyebrow. She looked around. It was a quiet end to a day in Beach City. The Boardwalk was empty; all the shops were closing down for the day, and only Onion was around. No weird monsters or spaceships. 

“Um, what craziness? I don’t see anything.” 

“Not right now. But something will happen come sooner or later. If there’s trouble, it always finds me.” Stevonnie said briskly, keeping their eyes on the sunset. 

“What type of trouble do you get into?” Kiki leaned forward. She remembered the pictures Jenny had shown her in summer. A little green spaceship leaking goo, Buck and Sour Cream throwing rocks in it. Her sister had said something had Steven getting stuck in it. Did stuff like that happen to them every day? 

“Lots. Corrupted gems try to kill us, Homeworld gems try to kill us. The Diamonds wanted to kill us.” Kiki gaped. Steven had told her about some of the gem monsters, and Diamonds had definitely come up before. 

“K-kill?” 

“Yeah. It keeps happening.” 

“Wh-why? Wh-why do they keep c-coming after you?” 

Stevonnie sighed, the sunset having gone down, and finally looked at her. “Because of this.” They laid a hand on their gemstone. 

“Wha-what’s so special about your piercing? And doesn’t-doesn’t Steven have one?” 

They tensed up. “Y-yeah, we uh, we, it’s-I’msorryIcan’tdothis-“ With a small pop, Stevonnie burst apart. Steven leaned heavily on Connie in their place. “Sorry.” Connie said, biting her lip. 

Kiki waved her off. “It’s fine.” This wasn’t even the top ten weirdest things she’d seen. 


	20. And We're Here Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the night of an equinox, Rhodonite thinks.

Rhodonite remembers Homeworld, and Earth, and the different colonies her Morganite visited with her components. Of them all, she likes Earth the best. Everything constantly changes, and stays the same. Everyone fuses, and it’s okay. It’s still hard for Rhodonite to understand that. But it’s hard for Flourite and Padparascha and the Rutiles too. 

Earth is new, and different, and scary. She still jumps at every sound, despite herself. She’s still trying to understand everything. But on Homeworld, there were hard slaps and nervous energy, grey rocks and Gems, stolen moments and forbidden fusing. There’s none of those type of scares on Earth. Earth has different things to fear. But Earth is also full of sensations, and Rhodonite delights in them. Green grass tickles her form, and wind sweeps through her veil. She can hear Earth creatures chirp and skitter, hidden in the fields. It is noisy, and gentle, and wonderful. It is nothing like Homeworld. One such thing was an “equinox”. 

Tonight is the “equinox”. It is a cycle where the Earth length of light and dark are equal. It only happens twice a “year”. It wasn’t dangerous, Steven had reassured her this morning. 

Rhodonite watches the sun make its circuit across the sky. Clouds float across, casting a shadow on the Earth. No one calls for her. There is no danger here. Rhodonite smiles. No one comes to look for her. The afternoon passes, and at long last, the sun drops behind the horizon. Red and pink clouds weave across the sky, fading to dark blue and silver. The moon rises to take its place, and Rhodonite finally moves. 

Moonlight gilds her form as she gets up, her lower hands laid in her top pair. A dreamy smile and blush blooming on her cheeks, Rhodonite dances until sunrise. 


	21. Case Closed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takes place before _The Trial._ Something doesn't add up.

When she had gotten the summons, Yellow Zircon had been ecstatic. But she had had to school her reactions at the time. She had been in the middle of a trial for a jade. 

“Yellow Diamond commands you for the trial of the traitor Rose Quartz for her crimes against gemkind, as the prosecution. Be at Yellow Diamond’s court at 16:00 PM.” Yellow Zircon read in the safety of her pod. She leaned back. She was to argue against the Rose Quartz, leader of the Rebellion. There were no other rose quartzes anymore. Stars, they had found her quickly. Only 5,000 years had passed since the Rebellion ended. 

Yellow Zircon frowned. Thoughts passed through her head with dizzying speed. “Why is she going through with a trial?” Something wasn’t right here. She got up and started to pace, bringing out her eye screen to corroborate facts. “Every Era 1 gem knows of the Rose Quartz. She betrayed Homeworld and her Diamond- she’s an undisputed traitor! Therefore, she’s already condemned to prison. So why is my Diamond holding a trial? It doesn’t make sense!” The word echoed in the pod. Yellow Zircon cringed and shook her head furiously. 

“What are you doing? How dare you question your Diamond?! You can’t! You don’t! Yellow Diamond is the most logical Diamond. She knows best. You’re just a zircon. You don’t question your Diamond!” 

Her mind satisfied and conscience quieted, Yellow Zircon sat back down in her pod. There were centuries of cycles to slog through. She would have to start now. 

0o0o0o0

Straightening her tie, Yellow Zircon walked down one of the many halls of the Yellow Court. Five parsecs early, as usual. The Topazes opened the doors. She strode through. Yellow Zircon was ready to see Rose Quartz out, and shattered to shards. 


	22. Weak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why was she here again?

She had formed alone. Well, not alone alone, Sapphire and Ruby and Garnet and Amethyst were here too. But that annoying Pearl that always screeched at her and off-color quartz _(Steven)_ weren’t around this time. Sugilite was as alone as she ever could be. 

But where was she? All six eyes blinked as she refocused on the world. Corn. Corn as far and wide as she could see. But what had the two been doing here? Something rammed into her foot. Then another. Sugilite looked down and found her answer. Two spiky snakes looked back up at her, more curling around her legs. She stomped on them, flattening cornstalks in a five mile radius. They had formed her for this? Amethyst and Garnet were getting _weak._

But, they didn’t have gems. The information trickled in slowly: they were just offspring. Sugilite groaned. As if on cue, something erupted out of the ground several yards away. 

“Ugh.” Sugilite summoned her weapon, hauling the flail over her shoulder and waited, an extremely hard task. Then the ground erupted from underneath her feet. “Whoa!” She had underestimated this thing! It wrapped around her body, and squeezed. Even worse, it had spikes on the underbelly. Sugilite growled as they pricked her skin and came dangerously close to poofing her. “Oh no you don’t.” With one of her lower arms, she tried to pull the corrupted Gem away. It held fast, and tried squeezing even more. Okay, that wasn’t working. Sugilite craned her neck and, there! On its tail, a dark brown speckled with gold gemstone waved. If only...she couldn’t reach it. Sugilite grimaced; it was time for Plan B. Sugilite fell over, impaling herself on its spikes, and it poofing from her bulk. Now, four inert gemstones laid on the ground, surrounded by destruction. 


End file.
